


The Lemur

by MissILikeTooManyFandoms



Series: The Beifongs [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 11:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3133010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissILikeTooManyFandoms/pseuds/MissILikeTooManyFandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The flying lemur jar is mocking Lin. It's sitting out of her reach full of delicious baked goods. What ever will the child do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lemur

Toph Bei Fong could probably cook well enough so as not to set her home ablaze, but after being raised with servants, fed by Katara, and served by more servants, Toph didn't see the need in cooking when others could do it for her. There were all sorts of vendors and restaurants in Republic City where she could pick up food for her and her daughter. Dinner, if not made by Katara while visiting Air Temple Island, either came in a box or a bag. Toph didn't care as long as she had food and Lin thought it was neat that her dinner didn't come on a plate, though she did eat it on one.

That didn't mean that there was no food in the house though. Toph didn't cook, but breakfast and usually lunch came from the kitchen. The cupboards were full of food that could be thrown together into a meal in a matter of moments: fruit, rice balls, bread, jam, nuts, etc. Toph didn't cook for her daughter, but she didn't leave Lin on her own either and prepared her meals.

It was after lunch on a day when Toph had time off to spend at home. Lin had returned to the room she shared with her mother, entertaining herself with the clunky wooden toys her mother had gotten her when she was younger. Toph was lounging on the couch in the main room, one hand pressed to the floor as an act of security. After the fifth time Uncle Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai by several different finishing moves all with the same sound effect, Lin tired of her toys. She was hungry, but not for dinner or real food. She wanted a snack.

With the wooden figures safely in their box, Lin scampered down the hallway to the kitchen. With everything being so high up and her short stature, Lin clambered up on to the granite island where her and Toph shared their meals. Her eyes scanned the cupboards as she tried to decide what she wanted. There was no need to open any of them as she knew where everything was. She knew her mother could see well enough in her own way, but Lin always made the effort to retrieve and stow things away for her blind mother.

On the third sweep, Lin zeroed in on the jar that was painted and shaped like a flying lemur, a gift from Uncle Sokka. She knew it was filled with the most delicious treat, her mother's favorite in fact. It was her favorite as well; she tended to love everything her mother enjoyed. Lin couldn't help licking her lips in anticipation of tasting the dried moon peach pieces and leechi nuts all wrapped up inside a crumbly cookie.

She quickly hopped off the island and on to the floor, racing toward her mother in the living room. She slowed down as she approached a seemingly dozing Toph. Lin wrung her little hands nervously for a moment, knowing how much her mother disliked being woken up. The seven year old gathered her courage for a few moments and then spoke.

"Momma?" Toph cracked an eye open, turning toward Lin. She hadn't been sleeping, too distracted by Lin running around.

"Kiddo?"

"Can I have cookie?"

"Knock yourself out." Toph closed her eye and attempted to resume resting, but was unable as she noticed that Lin had not left. Lin waited a few beats before speaking again, having to summon more bravado.

"Are you going to get it?"

"Oh! You want me to get you the cookie?" Lin nodded her head so vigorously that Toph managed to see it. The chief of police gave a mysterious smirk. "Why don't you try to get it?"

"Um…okay." Lin hurried off to the kitchen, climbing back on to the island. In the living room, Toph had moved to a sitting position, her feet planted on the ground to better watch Lin. She had been about the same age when she displayed signs of her ability to earth bend. Toph hoped that in her attempt to get the cookie, Lin would show some sign that she was an earth bender. Not that she really needed to observe the signs. She was confident that Lin was an earth bender. She just knew.

Lin's brow was furrowed in thought as her eyes darted from the cookie jar on top of the cabinet, the counter below the cabinet, and the floor between the island and the counter. After a few moments, she dropped down on to the floor and scaled the lower cabinet to reach the counter below the cookie jar. There wasn't much space between the end of the cabinet and the edge of the counter, but Lin could stand with only her heels hanging off the granite. She had to brace herself against the wooden cabinet's door though to keep her balance.

With her hands against the wood, Lin stood up on the balls of her feet. When comfortable and steady, Lin attempted to reach for the lemur jar, but her arm was too short, her fingers about six inches from the bottom of the jar. She experimented with a hop, but couldn't even brush the lemur's toes.

Tongue between teeth, Lin gave a full jump, removing the hand she had been pressing against the cabinet to keep her balance and extending both of her arms toward the lemur jar. She felt victory for but a brief moment when the tips of her fingers met the cool ceramic of the lemur's toes before she tumbled backwards. When she was certain she was going to hit the cold stone floor, she was enveloped by two very familiar arms.

"I'll get you your cookie, just don't try and break your neck again." Toph had known what was going to happen when she felt Lin going to jump for the second time and had rushed into the kitchen to keep her from hurting herself. She was a bit disappointed that Lin hadn't created a staircase or simply pushed herself on an earth pillar to the level of the jar, but she knew Lin would bend eventually. She was just glad that her squirt was alright.

"I'm sorry, Momma. I'm just too short." Lin's head hung low as Toph set her on the island, her temperature rising and her face flushing as embarrassment took hold.

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. I was short for a really long time too, but now I'm not. You'll grow." Toph stroked Lin's hair for a moment before turning and bringing the lemur jar down. She pulled a handful of cookies out of the jar and set them beside Lin, but not before taking one for herself. Lin's face lit up when she saw the cookies and quickly shoved two of them into her mouth.

"Fank thoo!" She wrapped her small arms around her mother and thanked her with her mouth crammed with food. Toph chuckled, patting Lin gently on her back.

"You're welcome. Now don't choke. When you're finished, would you like to go out? I've noticed how bored you get with those toys I got you. You could pick some out that you like. Chew and swallow though before you try to talk." Lin's temperature spiked again at her mother's words, but Toph wasn't sure if it was from excitement or embarrassment. She got her answer when Lin spoke without food in her mouth.

"I love those toys, Momma! You did a great job at picking them out, but I wouldn't mind getting one new toy." Lin clearly thought she had hurt her mother's feelings and was upset about it.

"If you don't like the toys, it's fine. You can get more than one toy, but nothing crazy. Now hurry up. Maybe we'll eat out tonight if the restaurants aren't crowded." Toph could get a table anywhere, whenever she wanted it, what with being a war hero and the chief of police, but she didn't enjoy all the vibrations she got while in a place full of people.

"Okay!" Lin scarfed down her remaining cookies in the time it took Toph to savor her one. The lemur jar was returned to its perch and the little family headed out, Lin practically dragging a grinning Toph out the door in her excitement.


End file.
